Fighting for a better future



Living in a world of sustainable, degradable, recyclable, environmentally friendly, natural, eco-products



Or are we?



What is greenwashing?



Greenwashing is not a lie or a concept with no merit – greenwashing is highly distortive for the competition and certainly not sustainable. There is no doubt that the environment and climate are on every conceivable agenda. And it's hard to open your mailbox without being flooded with amazing deals on bio-green-sustainable 100% recycled and reusable products without the content of the now-hated plastic. It has not made it easier to be a consumer; It certainly has not made it easier to be a buyer or decision maker in the B2B world either. What should you choose when, as a potential customer, you are offered a 100% plant-based beverage bottle without plastic or a compostable coffee cup? What requirements should you make as a customer or buyer? And how does one know if a product meets the requirements? We have seen an increasing tendency for purchasers and decision-makers at our customers' customers to comply with some relatively general requirements. Typically, requirements are that a product must be made of recyclable materials or be reusable. Many people try to avoid plastic - a bamboo pen instead of plastic, for example - and in the case of products made of wood or wood fiber, FSC certificates are required, while textiles and clothing must often be followed by an Ecotex certificate.


At first glance, this seems quite sensible, and it is also understandable that purchasers and decision-makers do not have the opportunity to thoroughly familiarize themselves with every lifecycle aspect of every conceivable product group. Unfortunately, it is far from sustainable or meaningful. Let's look at an example: A customer's customer has demanded that a drinking bottle be recyclable. The order is won by a company that supplies a compostable drink bottle made from plant-based plastic. There is just one problem: The beverage bottle is only compostable in large, central composting plants, and such is not found in the market where the bottle is to be used.


At StopGreenwashing.com, we firmly believe that this is a very problematic strategy. First, it is definitely not sustainable - it is almost counterproductive. Secondly, it also invites shit-storms and customer dissatisfaction, because what happens when people discover that the bottles is not composted but burned with all the other residual waste? On the other hand, we believe that one can go a long way with a marketing strategy that is consciously and specifically based on avoiding greenwashing and explaining to customers why and how. Therefore, in the future we will also place a requirement on our customers that they try to avoid greenwashing, and we will in fact go so far that we believe that a company cannot be certified according to ISO 14001 (environmental certification) if the company sells and Marketing is based on greenwashing. We have therefore also agreed with the certifying bodies we normally work with that in the future it will be a requirement for an environmentally certified company that we try to avoid greenwashing - just trying - we are all cheated once in a while.



THE 7 SINS





In the course of assessing thousands of products in the United States and Canada, TerraChoice Environmental Marketing categorized marketing claims into the following “seven sins of greenwashing”:


1. Sin of the hidden trade-off: committed by suggesting a product is “green” based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without attention to other important environmental issues (e.g., paper produced from a sustainably harvested forest may still yield significant energy and pollution costs).


2. Sin of no proof: committed by an environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party certification (e.g., paper products that claim various percentages of postconsumer recycled content without providing any evidence).


3. Sin of vagueness: committed by every claim that is so poorly defined or broad that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer (e.g., “all-natural”).


4. Sin of irrelevance: committed by making an environmental claim that may be truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking environmentally preferable products (e.g., “CFC-free” is meaningless given that chlorofluorocarbons are already banned by law).


5. Sin of lesser of two evils: committed by claims that may be true within the product category, but that risk distracting the consumer from the greater health or environmental impacts of the category as a whole (e.g., organic cigarettes).


6. Sin of fibbing: committed by making environmental claims that are simply false (e.g., products falsely claiming to be Energy Star certified).


7. Sin of false labels: committed by exploiting consumers’ demand for third-party certification with fake labels or claims of third-party endorsement (e.g., certification-like images with green jargon such as “eco-preferred”)



tHE 7 VIRTUES





While it is never hard to pinpoint the sins we make as consumers or retailers, it can be quite a bit harder to avoid being a victim of greenwashing. We've compiled a list of 7 virtues, that can help you:


1.Look for meaningful claims. Be cautious of products making generic claims of "100% natural” or “environmentally friendly" without information as to how or why. If you ask, and they are unwilling to, or provide insufficient, documentation for their claims - it is most likely because it's greenwashed!


2. Avoid products that make irrelevant claims, like that a product is "CFC-free" (CFCs were banned more than 20 years ago), "green", "sustainable", "ECO", "degradable",




3.If you consciously go for products which are certified from independent recognized third-party organizations specializing in environmental claims, check with the certifier to verify if the products are truly verified.


4. Be conscious of a product’s packaging. While a product may be made from recyclable materials, is the packaging green as well and can it be discarded in an environmentally safe way?



5. Read product usage instructions and avoid those that display warnings on the label, such as “caution” or “use in well-ventilated area,” which typically indicate that the product is hazardous to you and/or the environment.


6. Question percentage claims, such as “This product contains 50% more recycled content.” Fifty percent more than what?


7. Be cautious and conscious of hidden trade-offs. For example, many products today are more energy efficient but may still be produced from hazardous or non-recyclable materials, like solar-rechargable powerbanks that contain batteries.



So... is greenwashing legal?
The short answer is NO.



If you want the long answer, it's still a solid 'NO'. Several complex pieces of legislation (EU/US and other national laws) actually apply to all of your products and claims made



Legal background and aspect of greenwashing



“Marketing must provide a true, balanced and loyal overall impression of the product or the company being marketed.” Danish Consumerombudsman



Stop Greenwashing - A global initiative



A non-profit organization focused on creating a better global environment for humanity as a total